Vampires and Their Origins

I had always harbored an interest in vampires, an interest that heightened during autumn leading up the Halloween, but until class on Tuesday, I had little to no idea on the origins of vampires or Dracula. Hearing about Vlad the Impaler's past shocks me little, his behavior and ruthlessness were very common in his day. Eastern Europe during this time period has a fascinating history, and being able to view it from an American Studies perspective had been especially interesting. That being siad however, the pop culture notion of vampires has gotten way out of hand. Media such as Twilight and Buffy the Vampire Slayer have perverted the image of the vampire to the point where it most likely irredeemable. However, Bram Stoker's Dracula, as well as the original tales of Vlad the Impaler and the documentaries surrounding him, give a much more down to earth view of the vampire: a creature to speculated about, not romanticized about in pop culture.